Burnt and Purged Away
"Burnt and Purged Away" is the twelfth episode of the fourth season of the FX original series Sons of Anarchy, and the series' fifty-first episode overall. Summary SAMCRO negotiates with the Irish Kings to secure the club's future. Jax confronts Wendy over her return to Charming. Clay tries to make a deal with Tara. Meanwhile, Otto's deal with Potter goes through, much to Bobby's dismay. Opie's trust in Jax and the club is broken as he seeks revenge and reconciliation. On Gemma's request, Unser tries to undo the damage he's done. Opie shoots Clay twice in the clubhouse to avenge his father's and first wife's deaths. Plot There's a hard pounding on Gemma's door. She's still showing the signs of Clay's beating. It's Opie. He asks why Clay hurt her. She's vague, but he persists. She tells him its "historic s--t" that's been building a long time. She's just focused on taking care of her family. Clay and the guys meet with the real Irish, including Galen. Jax rolls up late and the Irish express sympathy, but they're worried about the cartel. They meet in the barn, where they try to convince the Irish that the bloodshed was an internal cartel beef. Galen isn't happy their RPGs were used. He blames the cartel for everything that's happened. Jax assures them Romeo understands the need for discretion. Chibs says the big guns were only be used south of the border and it won't blow back on the Irish cause. They meet with Romeo tomorrow. Galen wants the meet to be on neutral ground, then after they'll come back to the barn for the exchange. Juice, who has been told to report on the meet, listens intently. Back at Lincoln's HQ, one of his men reports that they're having trouble with the last of Otto's requests, getting Lenny Janowitz privileges. Lincoln doesn't care; Juice has just given him the details of the meet. Back at Oswald's barn, the Sons are feeling like their troubles with the cartel are almost over. Juice knows otherwise. Gemma visits Tara in the hospital. She says she fell down some stairs. Gemma asks about Wendy. Gemma assures Tara that she set Wendy straight about Abel. Gemma doesn't want Tara to tell Jax, fearing that it'll break his heart. Tara thinks it's her job to worry about Jax's heart. Gemma runs into Jax leaving Tara's room. He tells her Opie went up to check on Piney last night. Gemma realizes Opie knew his dad was dead when he came to see her. She tells Phil the prospect to find Opie. Tara tells Jax that Wendy came by and that Gemma didn't want her to tell him. He promises to deal with his ex-wife and his mother. Jax tells Phil to find Wendy, superseding Gemma's order to find Opie. Up at the cabin, Unser oversees Piney's body being taken to the crematorium for a private "after hours" disposal. At the clubhouse, Juice tells Jax he's going to the weed shop. Jax talks to Bobby and Clay, saying they need to tell Romeo they want out of the drug business. Clay thinks it's too soon to push for that. Jax tells them he's taking his piece and he's out. He thinks Bobby should be the President, Chibs the VP and Happy Sergeant-at-Arms. Jax wants to close the deal before they tell everyone else. Chibs brings Clay a call from Galen. He wants back-up. Jax takes Chibs and Clay tells him to take Tig and Happy. Jacob Hale gloats to Sheriff Roosevelt about his presentation to city council tomorrow night for Charming Heights. He wants Roosevelt there. Lincoln interrupts. He tells Roosevelt the RICO sting is tomorrow on the reservation and he wants back-up. Lincoln thinks Roosevelt seems disappointed that Juice came through. Lincoln is interested in Hale's housing proposal. Clay meets with Romeo and conveys that the Irish are nervous. Romeo asks about the "doctor problem." Clay wants to handle it, but Romeo says they can make it look like an accident after he's released. Clay says he'll let them know. Gemma stops by Piney's cabin. Unser tells her that he told Opie that Clay killed his father. She thinks this means Opie will kill Clay, which was sort of Unser's intent. She tells Unser to tell Opie he made a mistake. She says she's protecting what it took her 20 years to build. Juice gets picked up by Lincoln's men. Bobby goes to the prison to meet with Otto but is shown an empty room instead. Galen and Jax, Chibs, Tig and Happy go to a nice big house, where Galen tells them they're there just to look tough. Inside, they see a woman going upstairs with a baby. Jax follows her upstairs to look around. There's a crucifix on the wall. He finds a crying girl upstairs. A giant man gets in his way and Jax punches him out. He finds a room full of babies in cribs. The girl leaves in tears. Jax finds room after room of babies in cribs. The guys realize what they're looking at and start taking on the help hand-to-hand to avoid using guns. Later, Clay is on the scene. Galen calls the operation Catholic placement for unwanted babies, but Jax thinks they're just selling them for cash. Jax gets an urgent call from Phil. Clay apologizes to Galen and tells him Jax almost lost a son to their Belfast house so he's touchy. Galen thinks Jax is a hothead and Clay promises to keep him off the cartel business. Galen doesn't mind the fight too much, it sent his intended message. Jax tells Clay he's on the way to "bounce someone's head off 12 steps." Lincoln shows Otto the last of his papers, including Lenny's privileges. Otto just has to sign his statements. He signs, and Lincoln promises Otto he can talk to Bobby soon. Jax waits for Wendy outside her recovery center. He tells her she has no right to come back now. He warns her to stay away. She asks or what. She puts her recovered junkie story up against his felon-on-release story. She says she's not going anywhere, but he says it's OK, he is. Clay visits Tara in the hospital, locking the door. Gemma calls Opie. He's at Donna's graveside and doesn't answer. Gemma comes to the hospital and runs into Phil, who tells her Clay's alone with Tara. Tara awakes with a start and finds Clay lurking in her room. He tells her that their leaving Charming is a smart plan and he'd hate to see something get in the way of that. He offers to smooth their exit with Gemma. He tells her only the letters can get in the way of their leaving. She's surprised he knows about the letters. He wants them. "If you're so sure I'm not going to give them to Jax, why do you need them?" she asks. "Peace of mind," he says. She asks what happens if she doesn't, and he coldly responds, "I'm not sure you and Jax ever make it out of Charming." Gemma arrives outside Tara's door just as Clay leaves. Gemma tells Clay that Opie found Piney and is sure Clay did it. He's looking to settle the score. Gemma takes his face in her hands and kisses his cheek. She tells him she loves him. Gemma helps Tara pack up. Tara tells her Clay wants the letters. She asks if it's why she was attacked. Gemma says he found the cover note and had to tell someone. Jax arrives and tells Gemma and Tara that he talked to Wendy. He tells Gemma they're leaving the day after tomorrow to go to Oregon. Jax gets a call and goes in the hall to take it as Gemma tells Tara she has no idea what she's done to protect her and Jax. Phil comes in and says Jax had to leave and told him to take Tara home. This is news to the women. Clay comes to the clubhouse and finds Tig getting a three-way rub down. Clay tells him he got a bad vibe from Romeo and needs another gun for their meet. Tig suggests someone else. Otto comes in to meet Bobby. He shows Bobby a list of his transgressions and time added to his sentence. It's Otto's list of all the things he's done for the club while inside. He reminds Bobby all he wanted from the club was to take care of Luanne. Otto says they didn't and now they'll pay. Deputies come in to arrest Bobby. They take him away screaming. Opie stands by his father's body in the crematorium. Unser joins him. Before he can say anything, Jax joins them. Opie tells Jax how he found his dad. Jax asks if it was the Mexicans. Opie says he'll fill him in, he just wants to say good-bye. Unser leaves. Opie throws his dad's jacket on the fire. Outside the crematorium, Jax asks again about what happened to Piney. Opie pulls a gun on Jax and tells him he should know, Clay killed his dad. Jax doesn't believe it. He tells Opie that if Clay did it, it's a club issue. He suggests they take it to the table. Opie wonders what table, since Jax is out. Opie shoots out Jax's bike tire and tears off. Jax tries Unser's truck, but the starter is shot. Instead, Jax commandeers the hearse and tears after Opie. He texts as he drives and rear ends someone. So he gets out and steals a crotch rocket bike and keeps racing after Opie. Bobby is shown his cell. Juice hears the door slam next to him. Opie drives down the street, a man on a mission of vengeance. Tara feeds her son a bottle at home, under the sort-of watchful eye of Phil. Gemma smokes alone in the dark. Clay sits in the clubhouse at the head of an empty table, and hears a bike rumble up. He picks up a pistol and waits, going to the door. He's listening at it when Opie busts in with his gun drawn and quickly disarms Clay. "You're gonna die at the gavel," Opie tells him. Clay asks if he's allowed to say anything and Opie asks if his dad was allowed to say anything before he shot him in the chest. Opie brings up Donna's death and Clay tries to say the score is settled. Opie shouts Clay into his seat. Jax arrives with his gun drawn and asks Opie to drop his gun. "Please, Ope -- don't make me kill you," Jax pleads. Opie fires twice into Clay's chest and he falls backward. Church meetings (There were no meetings during this episode) Credits Main Cast * Charlie Hunnam as Jackson 'Jax' Teller * Katey Sagal as Gemma Teller Morrow * Mark Boone Junior as Bobby 'Elvis' Munson * Dayton Callie as Wayne Unser * Kim Coates as Alex 'Tig' Trager * Tommy Flanagan as Filip 'Chibs' Telford * Ryan Hurst as Harry 'Opie' Winston * William Lucking as Piermont 'Piney' Winston * Theo Rossi as Juan Carlos 'Juice' Ortiz * Maggie Siff as Tara Knowles * Ron Perlman as Clarence 'Clay' Morrow Supporting Cast Special guest stars *Drea de Matteo as Wendy Case *Danny Trejo as Romero 'Romeo' Parada *Rockmond Dunbar as Eli Roosevelt *Ray McKinnon as Lincoln Potter Guest stars *Benito Martinez as Luis Torres *Jeff Kober as Jacob Hale Jr. *David Rees Snell as Agent Grad Nicholas *David Labrava as Happy *Christopher Douglas Reed as Philip 'Filthy Phil' Russell *Senen Reyes as Santo Rivera *Timothy V. Murphy as Galen O'Shay *Bob Rusch as Skeeter *Bart McCarthy as Brogan *Bob McCracken as Roarke Co-stars *Paul Darrigo as Prison Guard *Elise Robertson as AUSA Agent *Steffany Huckaby as Woman with Baby *Unkown as Greta Notes * Last appearence of Piermont 'Piney' Winston * Lincoln Potter refers to Mayor Hale as "Mayor Quimby". A reference to Mayor Quimby in The Simpsons. Featured Music * Sun Kil Moon - "Glen Tipton" * Boo Boo Davis - "I'm So Tired" * Noah Gundersen - "David" (playing during the montage while Jax is chasing Opie to the clubhouse) Category:Season 4 episodes Category:Season 4